4of4The Funky Elephant will open early next year in Berkeley's former Doughnut Dolly space.Photo: The Funky Elephant

Supasit Puttikaew knew he wanted to open his first restaurant in the Bay Area a few years ago, but he wasn’t rushing to pursue the project. He was fine being the chef de cuisine of Hawker Fare in San Francisco, learning the subtleties of Thai and Laotian-inspired dishes from Michelin-starred chef James Syhabout.

Then one day he mulled over the pros and cons of the project with his wife, kicked around the concept with Syhabout, and learned he could afford a space in the East Bay. He decided to go for it.

The 33-year-old recently worked his last day at Hawker Fare and is now dedicating all of his time to launching the Funky Elephant, a Hawker Fare-esque Thai restaurant taking shape in the former Doughnut Dolly space in Berkeley. If all goes as planned, the restaurant will be up and running by early next year.

“The menu is still in the works, but it’s going to have pad Thai. I’m taking what I used to eat as a young person and transferring it to the customer,” he said. “Simple comfort food I cook at home for my wife and family and even the staff at Hawker Fare.”

Puttikaew is the second CDC of a Syhabout restaurant to be involved with a new project this year (Keone Koki is working with Syhabout as a partner on the upcoming Hawking Bird in Oakland).

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Berkeley is basically a love letter to Thai food. Chick ‘N Rice, the fast-casual restaurant from the founders of the food delivery app Caviar, opened earlier this year. And Bangkok Thai Cuisine, Imm Thai Street Food, and Anchalee Thai (among others) are all still rolling along. Puttikaew says he’s not intimidated by the market.

“In the East Bay, there's a lot Thai places but most of them, the old ones and new ones, they’re different from what Thai food is supposed to be,” he said. “With the Funky Elephant, I’m bringing a passion and love for this style of cooking that I think Thai restaurants need to have but are missing.”

The Funky Elephant will have about 12 seats inside the restaurant and maybe another 15 in the outdoor seating it shares with the nearby Philz Coffee, Puttikaew said.

“I don’t know what authentic Thai food is, or even classic Thai, because everyone claims they serve that, especially in the Bay Area,” Puttikaew said. “All I know is that this is the food I used to eat from 1984 until now. This is all i know. I can’t tell you if it’s the best pad Thai anywhere because there’s some many versions, but I can tell you what I have is an old school one.”

Justin Phillips joined the San Francisco Chronicle in November 2016 as a food writer. He previously served as the City, Industry, and Gaming reporter for the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He extensively covered the growth and transformation of Southwest Louisiana’s multibillion dollar energy sector. Justin also served as a columnist for the American Press where he won a Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Media Editors award for his weekly food column. In the past, Justin spent time working in the newsrooms of the Contra Costa Times, the Tri Valley Herald, and the Oakland Tribune. He studied journalism at Louisiana Tech University.